A former security officer for the Miami Heat, Marcos Tomas Perez, has been hit with a 36-month federal prison sentence and is on the hook to pay nearly $1.9 million. The price to pay comes after Perez pleaded guilty to transporting and transferring stolen goods across state lines for his own profit. The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez, with U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida commenting on the betrayal of public trust by the former police officer.
During his time with the Miami Heat, Perez had access to the secured equipment room at the Kaseya Center, housing game-worn jerseys and other collectible items earmarked for a future museum for the team. It was from this room that he lifted more than 400 items over several years, according to court documents. His online selling spree included a game-worn LeBron James NBA Finals jersey which he sold for about $100,000 – a jersey that later auctioned for a staggering $3.7 million at Sotheby's.
Perez got nabbed when authorities executed a search warrant at his residence on April 3, 2025, and found nearly 300 stolen items, the Miami Heat confirmed. FBI Special Agent in Charge Brett D. Skiles of the Miami Field Office led the investigation into the malfeasance, with assistance from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service's Miami Division and the Miami Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert Moore and Jon Juenger prosecuted the case.
The magnitude of this schemer's fall – from a 25-year retired veteran of the City of Miami Police Department to an inmate with a restitution bill that's almost $1.9 million – highlights a clear cut case of a breach of trust. "The Miami Heat represent excellence built through hard work and discipline in South Florida — and this conduct was the opposite," U.S. Attorney Reding Quiñones told in a statement obtained by the Justice Department. More information about the case can be found at the District Court for the Southern District of Florida's website or by checking case number 25-cr-20346 on the PACER system.
